Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill: Second Reading Speech

Mr Speaker, I stand to tautoko the
second reading of the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement
Bill.

The clear and pragmatic approach that Ngāti
Hauā has brought to the settlement of their claims is a
triumph and the product of their absolute belief and
commitment.

I quote Ngāti Hauā co-lead negotiator Lance
Rapana who said:‘The key to arriving at this sort
of outcome is . . . the ability of your iwi to pull
together, 100 per cent together, and move as one."It
was the result of hard work, unity and the pursuit of
justice by generations of Ngāti Hauā that has allowed us
to reach this point today.

Although the recent
Treaty settlement negotiations that culminated in the Bill
before us was perhaps one of the fastest on record, for
Ngāti Hauā, this path was instigated many years ago by
their rangatira Wiremu Tamihana.

Wiremu Tamihana
annointed the first Māori King, giving rise to the position
of Tumuaki, a role of local and national political and
spiritual significance that endures to the present day.

I would like to acknowledge the role of the Tumuaki
whose leadership has contributed to the timely success of
this settlement.In this settlement, the Crown apologises
for breaches of Treaty rights from the 1860s onwards, and in
doing so has acknowledged the means employed by the Crown to
strip Ngāti Hauā of their fertile lands, their rivers and
their maunga.

During the invasion of the Waikato in 1863 and 1864,
many Ngāti Hauā were killed or wounded. In 1865, the
Crown confiscated a large area of Waikato land. The
raupatu caused destitution within the Ngāti Hauā rohe, and
left them virtually landless.

Until his death in
1866, Wiremu Tamihana sought the return of Ngāti Hauā
lands, a cause subsequently pursued by his son Tupu
Taingakawa. Wiremu Tamihana submitted petitions to the
Crown, and his pursuit of justice and peace became a model
for many generations of Ngāti Hauā who continued to be
confronted by predjudiced Crown systems.

By the
1880s, private parties had acquired a large quantity of
Ngāti Hauā land. The alienation was exacerbated through
public works for roading, railways, schools and
hydro-electric purposes.

This included a Ngāti
Hauā longstanding grievance relating to the Crown’s
public works taking of land at Waharoa. In World War II, the
land was taken for an aerodrome, after which there was a
complete failure to return that land.

Slowly,
surely and comprehensively, the landscapes and waterways
within the Ngāti Hauā rohe were forcibly taken out of
their hands.

The loss of land undermined their
social and traditional stuctures, removing their ability to
exercise customary rights and responsibilities.

Mr
Speaker, despite a long history of seeking a meaningful
relationship with the Crown, and despite Ngāti Hauā’s
insistance for peace and justice, Ngāti Hauā has endured
great predjudice at the hands of the Crown.

This
settlement acknowledges the wrongdoings of the Crown in this
regard. In doing so, this settlement heralds a new chapter
in the relationship between Ngāti Hauā and the Crown based
on respect for the mana and rangatiratanga of Ngāti Hauā
and its leaders.Ngāti Hauā is already well-regarded
within its community and around the motu, and this Bill will
legislate in law, the importance of their relationships to
their whenua.The settlement includes eight sites to be
vested in Ngāti Hauā totalling 706 hectares. This includes
Maungakawa, vested in Ngāti Hauā as a scenic reserve, with
public access maintained. Ngāti Hauā will also be
involved in the co-management arrangements for the Waikato
River within their area of interest through
Waikato-Tainui.

And if the Waharoa Aerodrome land is
no longer required for aerodrome and ancillary aviation
purposes and reverts to the Crown, then it too can be vested
in Ngāti Hauā.

Mr Speaker, this and other redress
included in the settlement package in no way fully
compensates the huge loss of land experienced by Ngāti
Hauā at the hands of the Crown.

However, I am moved
and encouraged by the humility and graciousness of Ngāti
Hauā iwi. Their hard work and unity, and their ongoing
pursuit of peace and justice as an iwi whakapono is
inspiring – not just to iwi in Waikato or around the
country, but to all New Zealanders.

Mr Speaker joy,
tears and applause greeted this settlement when it was
signed in July last year. Today I stand to support the
second reading of this Bill with the same acclamation and
commendation.

The Government has approved a negotiating mandate for Trans-Pacific Partnership 11 (TPP11), which will ensure New Zealand businesses remain competitive in overseas markets.

Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand will be pushing for the minimal number of changes possible to the original TPP agreement, something that the remaining TPP11 countries have agreed on. More>>

.

As a desperate Turnbull government tries to treat the Barnaby Joyce affair as a Pauline Hanson fever dream – blame it on the foreigners! We’re the victims of the dastardly New Zealand Labour Party! – our own government has chosen to further that narrative, and make itself an accomplice. More>>

Wellington City Council is partnering with the University of Otago, Wellington, to launch a voluntary Rental Warrant of Fitness for minimum housing standards in Wellington, Mayor Justin Lester has announced. More>>

“The Crown acknowledges Moriori was left virtually landless from 1870, hindering its cultural, social and economic development. The Crown also acknowledges its contribution to the myths that the people of Moriori were racially inferior and became extinct." More>>

ALSO:

Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy is in Geneva and has asked a United Nations committee to urge the New Zealand government to initiate an inquiry into the physical and sexual abuse of children and disabled people held in state institutions. More>>

The commitment was signed this afternoon by the leaders of Labour, United Future, The Maori Party, and the Green Party and, together with the earlier commitment by New Zealand First, means that there is now a Parliamentary majority behind the families’ fight for truth and justice. More>>